Vikram Agarawal who heads the Radisson group has been called in for questioning by the police over his possible involvement in the illegal betting racket in the Indian Premier League.

While CNN-IBN reported that Agarwal had been called for questioning, Times Now reported that his lawyer had confirmed that Agarwal was in the custody of the CBCID of the Tamil Nadu police who are interrogating him.

4.53 pm: Police recovers three mobile belonging to Gurunath

The police have recovered three mobile phones that belong to Gurunath Meiyappan, former Team Principal of Chennai Super Kings. Gurunath's 70-foot yatch has been raided as well and they have recovered more evidence.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police sources have told Times Now that the bookies have spoken about fixing three other players. The bookies also claimed that one of the players made money through dropping a catch.

Former President of the ICC Ehsan Mani has slammed BCCI President N Srinivasan, saying that there was a conflict of interest both in terms of the constitution of a panel to probe spot-fixing allegations, as well as his association with the Chennai Super Kings team.

Speaking to media Mani said, "Regardless of what the outcome of the investigation is, it will appear as if there has been some influence from the president. Also, there is a conflict of interest as he is involved with CSK and India Cements"

This fact was also highlighted by Firstpost sports editor Tariq Engineer who said,

" The BCCI’s first reaction has always been to close ranks and stonewall. Transparency and openness are not values it embraces. If Indian cricket is to get to the bottom of the fixing and CSK scandal, the BCCI clearly cannot be counted on to do so. Only an outside hand, free of any interference from the board, can hope to uncover the full truth."

An accused in the IPL betting case Sanjay Kumar Bafna, against whom a lookout notice had been issued by the police was arrested in Chennai on Monday, PTI reported.

Bafna's anticipatory bail application was on Friday last adjourned by the Madras High Court to 29 May.

City police on May 17 busted the betting racket involving IPL matches with the arrest of six bookies and recovered Rs 14 lakh in cash, a day after three Rajasthan Royal cricketers, including pacer S Sreesanth were arrested in the spot-fixing scandal.

The Delhi police are likely to make two or three more arrests later this evening.

3.00 pm: Mumbai crime branch arrest two more bookies

The Mumbai crime branch has arrested two more bookies in connection with the IPL spot-fixing scam. The two are also believed to have links to Pakistan, Times Now reported.

2:15 pm: Six bookies arrested by Goa Police

The Goa police has busted an alleged IPL betting syndicate here and arrested six bookies in this regard early today.

“The six bookies were operating for last 45 days in Goa and accepting bets,” a police official said.

The bookies were picked up from a rented room at Candolim, about nine kms away from here, police said, adding that they were being interrogated.

1.59 pm: Ravi Shastri, Ajay Shirke on BCCI probe commission

Ravi Shastri has been named as part of three member BCCI probe team into the spot-fixing scandal that includes BCCI treasurer Ajay Shirke and a retired High Court judge. The commission is tasked with investigating all the allegations made with regard to the spot-fixing scandal, and was announced by BCCI President N Srinivasan in Kolkata on Sunday.

"A commission with at least one independent member will be formed to look into the way Meiyappan worked. The commission will also look into whether Meiyappan is the owner of the CSK. The management of the Rajasthan Royals will also be subject to a similar investigation", Srinivasan said.

BCCI vice-President and a member of the Board's Disciplinary Committee Arun Jaitley has promised "tough action" against anyone found guilty of involvement in the spot-fixing scandal that shook the IPL.

Jaitley, who is also a member of IPL Governing Council, said a free and fair investigation would be conducted within a stipulated deadline.

"The Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) of BCCI is looking into all these matters," was Jaitley's reaction when asked about the spot-fixing scandal.

"The Supreme Court has given it (BCCI) a 15-day time limit. It will give its report which will come up before the Disciplinary Committee. Be rest assured we are going to take tough action (against anyone found guilty)," he said.

Jaitley's reaction came after Indian cricket was thrown into disarray because of the IPL spot-fixing scandal which led to the arrest of three players, including Test pacer S Sreesanth, and several bookies with underworld connections.

The scandal reached the doorstep of BCCI President N Srinivasan with the Mumbai Police arresting his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings owner Gurunath Meiyappan for alleged involvement in betting.

1.18 pm: Mumbai police now at prestigious Chennai hotel in search of owner

The Mumbai police has reportedly reached a five star hotel near Egmore in Chennai following its trail of investigation into the betting network. The owner of this hotel is suspected to be involved in the betting racket and had reportedly placed big bets on the IPL matches. His name came up during the interrogation of Meiyappan and Vindoo Dhara Singh.

12.37 pm: Media is hounding me, says Srinivasan

Under fire BCCI President N Srinivasan who gave himself a clean chit and called his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan 'a cricket enthusiast', today lashed out at the media for 'hounding' him.

Srinivasan's attack on the media began yesterday when he asked people to beware of 'trial by media' and said that he would not be 'railroaded' out of his position as he did nothing wrong.

"I was referring to the media. TV, newspapers and everyone else wanted me gone. And I was referring to them. There have been others but primarily the media", he said at a press conference on Sunday.

And the attack continued when the BCCI President, who had been booed by a capacity crowd at Kolkata's Eden Gardens at the IPL final, returned to Mumbai.

“The press is hounding me, the media is hounding me. I have already clarified everything in the press conference. I have no reason to resign,” Mr. Srinivasan retorted when journalists at the Chennai airport asked him about the scandal and whether he should resign on moral grounds.

11.43 am: Chennai hotel owner also under scanner

Tamil TV channels are reporting that the Tamil Nadu CB-CID has formed a special team to nab the owner of a five star hotel in Chennai who is suspected to be part of the betting syndicate. However, there are no indications on his identity. His name came up during the interrogation of Gurunath Meiyappan and Vindoo Dhara Singh. The CBCID has also intensified the hunt for five more members of the betting network who have gone underground ever since the arrests began.

The Mumbai police personnel have been in the city for the last four days and they are continuing with their searches to recover the cellphones and sim cards allegedly used by Meiyappan. The day long searches on Sunday failed to locate the phones and sim cards, which would be part of the crucial evidence that is the police is looking for.

Hammering another nail in the coffin of claims by India Cement and BCCI President N Srinivasan that Gurunath Meiyappan was not the CEO of Chennai Super Kings, a team of Mumbai police who raided his residence had found visiting cards clearly naming him 'Team Principal' of CSK.

The findings are almost in direct contrast to claims made by Srinivasan at a Kolkata press conference on Sunday, when he said Meiyappan was not the owner or CEO of the team and sought to explain his presence in the team dugout by saying he was merely 'enthusiastic'.

The visiting cards have also been accessed by CNN-IBN.

But cards are the least of it.

Now the Times of India has revealed an email from IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla dated 24 December 2011 that was sent to the various team owners inviting them to the annual workshop that lists Meiyappan as one of the recipients.

And if Meiyappan was merely an 'enthusiast' then why has he been an active participant at team auctions since 2009 and given interviews to the press as team principal? More on that here

11.12 am: Delhi police hunt for bookie in spot-fixing

The Delhi police are reportedly hunting for another bookie related to the spot-fixing scam who may have been involved in luring players, CNN-IBN reported.

"The Delhi Police teams are camping in Kolkata to apprehend one more alleged fixer in the IPL spot-fixing case, but has not been successful yet. Delhi Police sources say the special cell is looking for the fixer as he could be crucial in the investigation and lead to the arrest of more players.

Delhi Police sources say they still have four IPL players under surveillance and are looking for evidence. The fixer could lead to a major breakthrough and result in more arrests"

End of updates for 26 May

5.50 pm S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and two bookies remanded to two more days of police custody by court. Sreesanth has moved for a bail plea which will be heard by the court on 28 May.

Meanwhile cricketer Ankit Chavan and three bookies sent to judicial custody till June 4 by court in connection with the case.

Chavan has moved bail plea saying his wedding is scheduled on 2 June; the court will hear arguments for this plea on 28 May.

4.10 pm: Srinivasan Q&A

Will you not resign?

"I will not be allow myself to be railroaded, bulldozed or threatened. I have been selected to do a job and I will do it well. I have answered this question many times. The BCCI is united and determined to justify peoples trust in the IPL."

Why is CSK being allowed to play?

"The stadium is full. People are clamouring for tickets. And there are no allegations against the CSK."

How can CSK distance itself from Gurunath?

"He was travelling with the team and he was enthusiastic. But I have nothing to say about this. India Cements has already issued a statement. A commission will look into this. I don't think it is neccessary for me to go further on this. I have not done anything wrong, if a relative has, let the law take its course."

Will the BCCI act fairly?

"You cannot assume that people in the BCCI will not act fairly. What is the hurry? I will not be part of the commission. I await the report as much as you."

Why you said you couldn't be bulldozed out of the job?

I was referring to the media. TV, newspapers and everyone else wanted me gone. And I was referring to them. There have been others but primarily the media.

No conflict of interest at all?

"Well, I don't know about you. But the BCCI believes in natural justice."

Who is the owner, team principal of the CSK?

"India Cements has been helped cricket for more than 50 years. India Cements run 12-13 teams in the TNCA cricket. These teams are run by ex-cricketers. And it is those people who are running the team."

So what was Gurunath doing in the dugout?

"He was enthusiastic. What can I tell you? The commission will go into the details."

Lalit Modi has tweeted that CSK is spoiling the IPL. Your thoughts...

"I do not reply to fugitives."

4.02 pm: Srinivasan addresses the press

Srinivasan reads out a statement:

"The last few days have been difficult for the BCCI and for me as the president. You will appreciate that in these days as a father and a father in law. However, I sit here as president of the BCCI. I will not shirk my duty however difficult it may be. The BCCI will act without fear or favour if the circumstances warrant to punish any players, team-official or franchise involved in the spot-fixing scandal."

"The BCCI will continue to offer assistance to the police and the other authorities."

"With regards to Gurunath Meiyappan -- the legal process has already started, the police is investigating him. The BCCI has already taken the decision to provisionally suspended him. A disciplinary process has been initiated. A commission with at least one independent member will be formed to look into the way Meiyappan worked. The commission will also look into whether Meiyappan is the owner of the CSK. The management of the RR will also be subject to a similar investigation."

"The principles of natural justice. News reports have overstepped these bounds. The unfair attack has been relentless. The TV channels have been carrying news without any basis. No revolt in the BCCI. I have not been asked by anyone to resign. I will continue as president."

"I do not want to minimise the problems faced by the IPL. Lastly, I would like to take the opportunity with the broadcasters and the sponsors who have stood by us."

4.00 pm: Srinivasan addresses the press

You have to admire how calm Srinivasan looks. A drink of water and he is ready to go. But he still hasn't smiled.. well...

3.48 pm: Sources have told a TV channel that Srinivasan told BCCI members that he is open to a probe by a judge. He has reportedly said that the judge can probe CSK and him as well.

3.37 pm: Sreesanth, other Rajasthan Royals players produced before Saket court. Their police custody ends today and the police is likely to ask the court to extend custody.

3.35 pm: BCCI discussing tours and fixtures in Kolkata?

The Tour Programme and Fixtures Committee of the BCCI met in Kolkata earlier today, to discuss and confirm the venues during Australia’s tour of India in October-November 2013. India and Australia will play seven ODIs and one T20 International, from 10 October 2013 to 2 November 2013.

The ODIs will be played at the following venues: Bengaluru, Pune, Mohali, Nagpur, Jaipur, Ranchi, Cuttack. Rajkot will host the lone T20 International.

The exact dates and sequence will be announced later.

2.11 pm: BCCI holding series of meetings but body chief N Srinivasan remains defiant and says he will not step down. Srinivasan is expected to hold a press conference at 4 pm. It appears that Srinivasan's legal team was also present during BCCI's meeting.

Board members are not happy with his decision, according to reports.

12.32 pm Delhi Police to produce arrested players including Rajasthan Royals' and former India player S Sreesanth in court today. The police is unlikely to seek extension of custody for the player.

The Police will also be producing the arrested bookies in court today and could ask for an extension of the custody of bookies.

12.18 pm: Police raid on Meiyappan residence continues

The police raid on the Meiyappan residence began at 9.40 am and it continues. They are now searching his car, which is parked out in the open.

11.51 am: So why did Meiyappan bet?

According to some reports, Meiyappan made around 25 lakhs on the first game he bet. But then he ended up losing around a crore in the next 3-4 matches. To recover that loss, Meiyappan apparently was tempted back into the betting ring by Vindoo, who told him that if he gave them team information then he could make a lot of money.

The Mumbai police continues to question Meiyappan. They are also looking for more evidence in Chennai.

11.03 am: Meiyappan bet on 9 games?

More details emerging... Meiyappan bet on at least 9 games -- won 4 and lost 5 of them. According to TV sources, Meiyappan bet at least 10 lakhs on one CSK game -- but CSK lost the match.

At the moment, the police is conducting a search of Meiyappan's house in Chennai. They are looking for the phones that Meiyappan used to call the bookies. Meiyappan, reportedly, has four phones.

The Mumbai police also wants to know what Meiyappan did with the team information he has in his possession. Did he give it to the bookies?

10.47 am: CCTV footage shows Sreesanth with bookie

Times Now has accessed CCTV footage of the Chandigarh hotel where RR stayed on May 9. The footage shows Sreesanth and Ankit Chavan with Jiju Janardhan, who is allegedly with a bookie.

The footage also shows them exchanging some packets. Two unidentified women are also seen in the footage. The contents of those packages are not known yet. The Delhi police is now scrutinising the footage and will question Sreesanth on the same.

According to the time stamp in the footage, Sreesanth and Chavan were up till at least 6.00 am in the morning and was seen nervously walking in the corridor over and over again. And this is after they had played and won a game the night before. No rest for them.

All this footage is from one camera. The Delhi police will be looking at footage of at least 5-6 cameras.

10.27 am: Will Srinivasan step down?

Mr. N. Srinivasan, President, BCCI, will address the media at 4:00 pm on Sunday, 26 May 2013 in Kolkata.

Will a good night's sleep have helped him see the light? Will he step down? Or will be stubbornly stick to his stand?

The Bcci committee has become a rubber stamp of Srini. Them continue to supporting him shows how Srini rules

According to TV reports, Vindoo Dara Singh has apparently said that the betting and fixing may extend beyond Indian Premier League matches. News is emerging that they may have been fixing international matches too.

The Mumbai Crime Branch will now have more time to interrogate Gurunath Meiyappan. And that may see more details emerge.

Asad Rauf, the Pakistani umpire, who is also allegedly involved has already left India and the government will have to figure out ways to get him back.

Vindoo has said that Asad Rauf gave him vital information to place bets and he was introduced to him through a bookie.

10.20 am: BCCI suspends Meiyappan

BCCI suspends Mr. Gurunath Meiyappan from any involvement in the sport of Cricket and Chennai Suoer Kings IPL team.

The media release:

The BCCI has taken note of the detention by the Mumbai police of Gurunath Meiyappan, who is a member of the team management of Chennai Super Kings.

As an accredited team official, Mr Meiyappan is subject to the provisions of the IPL Operational Rules and the BCCI Anti-Corruption Code for Participants.

Pending further investigations and any subsequent hearing by the BCCI Disciplinary Committee or the IPL Code of Behaviour Committee, Mr Meiyappan has been suspended by the BCCI from any involvement in the sport of cricket and in particular from any involvement with the Chennai Super Kings team.

BCCI officials met with officers from the Mumbai police on the evening of 23 May, and will continue to offer all assistance to the police and regulatory authorities.

10.11 am: Voice sample of Gurunath to be taken soon

Police said the former CSK boss will be subjected to a voice sample test and will be brought face-to-face with Vindoo Dara Singh, who is already in police custody.

A previous recording of a conversation purportedly between the two will be analysed through voice tests to corroborate if the conversation was indeed between the arrested duo.

Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police Himanshu Roy on Saturday said in a press conference that Gurunath Meiyappan and Vindoo Dara Singh will be probed face to face.

Roy said, "We have recovered some items from Vindoo and Meiyappan which will help us in our probe."

6:55 pm: CSK coach says players and support staff are distressed

Stephen Fleming, the CSK coach has said that the players and support staff are distressed about the news that the CSK franchise is facing questions about its officials' alleged involvement in gambling on the IPL, according to CNN-IBN. Fleming said the team was proud of having played in the IPL for six seasons and would do its best to put aside the controversy and focus on the final tomorrow

Fleming also apologised on behalf of MS Dhoni's for the latter's absence at the press conference.

6:30 pm: CSK and MI captains will not address the media before the match

N Srinivasan has reached Kolkata ahead of tomorrow's IPL final, according to Times Now. Meanwhile CNN-IBN reports that the captains of the two teams - MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma - will skip the pre-match press conference. The coaches - Stephen Fleming and John Wright - will address the media instead.

There are also reports that Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former BCCI president and current president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, will be hosting a dinner tonight at which Srinivasan's situation will be discussed.

6:00 pm: Delhi Police say that more Indian cricketers might have been in touch with bookies

The Delhi Police have claimed that bookie Mohd Yahya, arrested in the IPL spot-fixing scandal, told them that he had been in touch with "some more" Indian cricketers for manipulating matches even as investigators did not rule out the involvement of foreign players in the case.

Police sources said Yahya, who was arrested from Hyderabad yesterday while trying to flee to Dubai, told his interrogators about the involvement of players other than the three arrested cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan. A senior police official said Yahya named cricketers, some of whom had played even at the international level, with whom he was in touch with in connection with the scandal.

However, police refused to name the players saying investigations were on and they have to collect evidence. The official also said he will not rule out the possible involvement of foreign players.

Asked whether team owners were involved in the scandal, the official said "no such thing has surfaced in ourinvestigation."

PTI

4:40 pm: Law Minister Kapil Sibal says the attorney general is in favour of a new law to deal with fixing in sports

"We cannot let down millions of fans out there for whom cricket is a passion, for whom the sport of cricket is almost a religion," Sibal told the press, although the law will not apply just to cricket, it will apply to all sports.

"We would like the law to be as broad as possible to deal with all kinds of unfair practices," Sibal said. In this new age, you can do things with a gesture, you can do things with any technology. The law must be such, and the definition of unfair practices in sport must be such that in its ambit it includes all such practices through which not just the outcome of the match but the course of the match is manipulated."

Sibal added that the law was still in its formative stages.

4:05 pm: IPL Commissioner Rajiv Shukla says talks are on to see whether Srinivasan should go

IPL commissioner and BCCI senior member Rajiv Shukla has reportedly told CNN-IBN that there are discussions on in the board whether president N Srinivasan should go.

3:25 pm: Meiyappan sent to police custody till 29 May

Despite his pleas, Gurunath Meiyappan has been sent to police custody till 29 May.

In police custody he can expect to be submitted to more interrogation sessions with the actor Vindoo Dara Singh.

So if Meiyappan had any hope of catching the IPL finals, well its just been dashed to pieces by the court.

3:00 pm: Meiyappan opposes police plea for custody

Gurunath Meiyappan, who is fighting to stay out of police custody has reportedly argued in court that the seizure of his mobile phones cannot be a reason to remand him to police custody.

Police officials have however, claimed that they need to investigate links between the former Team Principal of the Chennai Super Kings and actor Vindoo Dara Singh, with the duo often in touch even while matches were on.

The investigating agency has said they suspect Meiyappan's involvement in spot-fixing and illegal betting and need to probe it. They also claim to have records of call data records of the former CSK owner which show he was in touch with a bookie and Vindoo Dara Singh.

2:00 pm: Meiyappan wearing CSK t-shirt to court?

You can take Meiyappan out of the CSK's top post but you can't take the team out of his heart evidently. A tweet indicates the former team principal of the Chennai squad may be wearing his allegiances on his sleeve even during a court appearance. Or maybe he just didn't pack enough clothes for his Mumbai trip?

BCCI chief N Srinivasan says he's done nothing wrong and has no intention of resigning any time soon.

"I have done nothing wrong. I have no intention of resigning. I cannot be bulldozed or railroaded into resigning...There is no question about it," a terse Srinivasan told waiting journalists at the Mumbai airport.

"The BCCI will follow all its rules. Law will take its own course," he said.

Gurunath Meiyappan, arrested late last night on charges of indulging in illegal betting on cricket games has been produced before a metropolitan magistrate's court.

The Mumbai Police is likely to seek his custody in the case and it remains to be seen if the court accepts their plea. The court may be told that Meiyappan had leaked team strategy to the bookies through Vindoo, reported CNN-IBN.

Meanwhile, Srinivasan has landed in Mumbai and is expected to leave for the BCCI headquarters shortly.

11:35 pm: Srinivasan leaves for Mumbai from Madurai

BCCI chief N Srinivasan has left for Mumbai from Madurai, reports CNN-IBN.

While it is unlikely it will be to visit his son-in-law in a jail cell in Mumbai's crime branch, he can be expected to be at the BCCI headquarters in the financial capital. He's more likely to be consolidating his support from other cricket boards while he's here.

The BCCI is also likely to hold an informal meeting ahead of the IPL finals in Kolkata on Sunday. It's unlikely Srinivasan will resign just yet.

10:50 am: BCCI says IPL final to go as planned

Any Mumbai Indians fans who may have been hoping for a cancelled final that would mean their team would get the IPL trophy without a fight can stop doing so.

BCCI sources have told CNN-IBN that despite the controversy surrounding the IPL and the Chennai Super Kings with the arrest of former team principal Gurunath Meiyappan, the IPL final on Sunday will go ahead as planned.

There will be no suspension of the Chennai team for now, and any BCCI meet to decide the fate of the BCCI president N Srinivasan won't be held until the IPL final is over, the sources said.

So much for the anti-corruption clause of the IPL which promised strongest action against anyone found bringing disrepute to the game. Or perhaps all of this, the administrators believe haven't brought any disrepute to the sport at large.

10:35 am: Mumbai cops say Meiyappan being evasive

Mumbai Crime Branch questioned Chennai Super Kings owner Gurunath Meiyappan for several hours after his arrest last night in IPL betting scandal, but he has been "evasive" and "non-cooperative" during interrogation, police said here today.

Meiyappan, son-in-law of BCCI President N Srinivasan, was taken to Crime Branch headquarters after his arrival from Madurai by a chartered aircraft last evening. His arrest was announced by Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy at around midnight last night.

Roy initially quizzed Meiyappan for about two-and-a half hours. After his arrest, the 35-year-old was again subjected to questioning for several hours by Crime Branch team, police officials said.

"He was not as cooperative as we expected him to be. He was evasive about several questions," police officials told PTI this morning. (PTI)

10: 15 am: Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrests bookie

The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has arrested a bookie with alleged links to the illegal betting ookie racket and has seized Rs 1.28 crore and other equipment from him, CNN-IBN reported

The role of the bookie, Vinod Mulchandani, is exactly clear right now, but given the crackdown on bookies across the country the arrest doesn't come as a surprise.

08: 30 am: Meiyappan to be produced before court, Srinivasan says he won't go

Meiyappan, who was dramatically arrested last night is to be produced before a Mumbai court today where the police is likely to seek his custody in order to interrogate him with Vindu Dara Singh.

However, father-in-law and BCCI chief N Srinivasan, apart from allegedly threatening to "fix" a journalist, has said that he has no intention of leaving the BCCI chief's post just yet.

"There is no controversy. As for my resignation, why, there is no need. I will not resign," he is quoted as telling the Mumbai Mirror in an interview last evening.

He also claimed he had no knowledge of what his son-in-law was up to and whether he had done anything wrong.

"If anyone has done anything wrong then I will not spare them," Srinivasan said.

What this means for Meiyappan isn't very clear given he's still an honorary member of the Chennai Super Kings.

However, later in the night when he was called by Headlines Today for a statement, this is what an angry BCCI president had to say:

Spoke to N Srinivasan about arrest of son-in-law. 'Shut up, just shut up. I will fix the whole lot of you.'

While the drama of IPL spot-fixing has continued well into the night, Arun Jaitley has stayed away from making any comments on the late night arrest of Gurunath Meiyappan.

"Why should I comment on Meiyappan's arrest?" CNN-IBN quoted Jaitley as saying.

01.40 am: Meiyappan asked more than 100 questions, may face same charges as Vindoo

CNN-IBN is reporting that Meiyappan was asked more than a hundred questions, and the word is that he may be facing the same charges as Vindoo Dara Singh. However, the crime branch has not confirmed the charges against him.

01.19 am: BCCI top brass want Arun Jaitley as chief

Meanwhile, BCCI sources have told CNN-IBN that the top brass in the cricket body wants Arun Jaitley to take over as the BCCI chief

But N Srinivasan has reportedly told the news channel that he is not resigning.

Mumbai Joint commissioner Himanshu Roy said, "We have interrogated Mr Gurunath. We have gone through questioning with him in detail and after due deliberation we have come to the conclusion that there is evidence of his involvement in the offense we are investigating.

"And therefore he has been placed under arrest and will be produced before a court within 24 hours as per the law."

However, Roy did not specify the specific charges against Meiyappan. According to CNN-IBN, there are nine charges that pertain to the case, including sections 4 and 5 of the Gambling Act, as well as cheating forgery and fraud. The police will need to specify the specific charges against Meiyappan when they produce him in court.

Meiyappan's lawyer PS Raman said: "We are exploring all legal possibilities. We are waiting for the remand report before reading the charges against him."

21.13 pm Meiyappan, Vindoo may be questioned together

CNN-IBN Mumbai bureau chief Smitha Nair quoted sources as saying that at the moment top crime branch officials are interrogating Gurunath Meiyappan and the process may continue well into the night.

CNN-IBN sources also allegedly said that Vindoo Dara Singh may be brought in to be questioned along with Meiyappan.

21. 02 pm: Meiyappan reaches Mumbai crime branch

Gurunath Meiyappan has at last reached the Mumbai crime branch.

CNN-IBN reports say that he has been taken to Joint Commissioner of police Himnashu Roy's room for a briefing before being questioned. It is still not clear whether Roy will himself question Meiyappan.

Also, Bharat Raman, the gentleman accompanying Meiyappan is the brother of PS Raman, a senior lawyer who is close to the DMK. He was the advocate general of Tamil Nadu during the DMK regime and had appeared for Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam case, said CNN-IBN.

20. 05 pm: M Gurunath being taken to crime branch by Mumbai police

Finally! After almost 45 minutes of wait M Gurunath is seen walking out from the Mumbai airport accompanied by police officials. He is now being taken to the crime branch.

20.00 pm: Meiyappan has not been detained, say police

It's been more than half an hour that Meiyappan landed at the Mumbai airport, but there's still no sight of him. Police are reportedly inside the airport with Meiyappan and says they will escort him to the crime branch.

"Gurunath Meiyappan will be quizzed on betting, spot-fixing and passing on information," Mumbai police told CNN-IBN. However, police have confirmed that they have not detained Meiyappan.

Gurunath Meiyappan's Twitter profile has undergone a quick makeover and now reflects his designation within the team. The first image is the original Twitter profile and the second image is the updated profile:

17:30 pm: Roy says Srinivasan should quit

"If I am betting or even my son is betting, it is wrong. We can make teams win or lose if we want," Roy said, adding however that the police would decide the guilt of Meiyappan.

He also denied any knowledge of any betting in the T20 league or the paying of black money to players by teams to hold on to them.

"Black money is something Sahara does not believe in it," Roy said, adding that his company only worked in legitimate businesses.

He also sought that sports bodies be improved across the country.

Roy said that Sahara had a great relation with the BCCI until Srinivasan took over.

17: 25 pm: Roy says Srinivasan has conflict of interest, says his problem only with BCCI chief and not the organisation

"There should be minimum culture..." Roy said, adding "This way one cannot be with anybody."

He also protested the manner in which the BCCI had taken the bank guarantees submitted from the IPL after the last league match that the Pune team played.

When asked if his problem was only with N Srinivasan, Roy said,"I have only a problem with him."

Roy also raised questions about how Srinivasan could be the head of the disciplinary committee while owning a team playing in the IPL.

"With this system, we have had a bad feeling all along. We are treated like we are nothing in cricket," Roy said.

He said he didn't know what other franchise owners thought of Srinivasan, but they had expressed the sentiment that they were unhappy with the BCCI.

17: 20 pm: Subrata Roy blames BCCI and N Srinivasan for leaving IPL

Describing the sequence of events as "sad, irritating and disgusting" Sahara chief Subrata Roy painted a sorry picture of himself and blamed the BCCI for the Pune Warriors backing out of the IPL.

"In the last 13-14 years we enjoyed harmony with the BCCI till Mr Shashank Manohar was there...After that it is so disgusting," Roy told Times Now.

"A sports body should have a sportsman spirit and should not be egoistic," he said.

Roy wrote to the president but didn't even get an acknowledgement. he also spoke of a telephone conversation where he said the BCCI chief fobbed him off saying he was busy with his grandchild.

Roy said he had been advised to withdraw from the IPL after the tournament began but had chosen not to do so and spoke to the IPL commissioner Rajiv Shukla about it.

16:45 pm: CSK disowns Meiyappan, says he's neither CEO or owner

Ahead of his appearance before the Mumbai crime branch the Chennai Super Kings has issued a statement stating that he is neither the CEO or the owner of the team.

In a brief statement, the company said:

India Cements clarifies that Mr. Gurunath Meiyappan is neither the Owner, nor CEO / Team Principal of Chennai Super Kings. Mr. Gurunath is only one of the Members (Honorary) of the Management Team of Chennai Super Kings.

India Cements follows zero tolerance policy and if anyone is proved guilty, strict action will be taken immediately. India Cements assures full co-operation with BCCI and the Law Enforcement authorities.

Curiously enough Meiyappan was the Team Principal of the Chennai Super Kings until the beginning of the season and even he seems to be unaware of the fact that he has been demoted. His profile on Twitter still reflects his original status :

It isn't clear if this change in profile was effected during the Kodaikanal trip he made earlier today. If Meiyappan were to be arrested it could mean that the Chennai Super Kings could face elimination from the IPL finals. However, if he is not the team prinicipal he wasn't aware of it when he gave interviews this year.

16: 25 pm: NCP wants N Srinivasan to quit immediately

The NCP has condemned N Srinivasan's insistence on staying on as the cricket board chief and demanded that he step down immediately

"If he has an iota of honesty he should step down immediately," the party has said, reported CNN-IBN.

And just in case you're wondering why the NCP is so outraged, remember that party chief Sharad Pawar was edged out by Srinivasan and might just have decided its payback time.

RJD's Lalu Prasad Yadav has also joined in the chorus and has demanded the strongest possible action against those guilty of betting and spot-fixing.

"It is a game of money and because of it the nation's name is being sullied," Lalu observed, demanding the strongest possible action.

15:50 pm: Vindoo taken to court

Vindoo Dara Singh has been taken to a Mumbai metropolitan magistrate's court and the police is to seek an additional four days of custody, reported Times Now.

One reason that is likely to be stated is that the police might confront Chennai Super Kings chief Gurunath Meiyappan with the actor, but whether the court will grant custody remains to be seen.

Remember, the six bookies who were arrested in the case were sent to judicial custody after the court said that the police failed to present adequate evidence

“Guru (he addresses Meiyappan that way) had several connections with known bookies from Chennai and Dubai and was regularly in touch with them even before the IPL started.” he said. “What began as a relatively smaller side-business became a full-fledged one over the years.”

The Delhi police and their counterparts in Mumbai may be arguing over the relevance of the contents of Sreesanth's iPad and closed circuit television footage, but Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar says there's no problem.

"There is no acrimony," he told Times Now, adding that the was in constant touch with the Mumbai Police chief to ensure the two police forces were on the same page.

However, he clarified that the two probes are currently divergent, with the Delhi police probing spot fixing and Mumbai illegal betting, and have no common ground for now.

15:05 pm: Will N Srinivasan go if Meiyappan arrested?

According to CNN-IBN, unnamed sources have said BCCI chief N Srinivasan will step down if his son-in-law is to be arrested today.

The channel reported that Arun Jaitley and Rajiv Shukla, who met earlier today, spoke with him following the meeting and have apprised him of the situation and sentiment among the various cricketing boards.

Chennai Super Kings may also be in trouble if Meiyappan in arrested, given the IPL's rules states that if the head of any team is arrested the team must be disqualified, CNN-IBN reported.

However, NDTV reports that the Chennai team may scrape through a loop hole and claim that Meiyappan isn't the owner of the team and is an employee of the team.

15:00 pm: Meiyappan to turn up with legal team in tow

Facing tough questions from the Mumbai Police, Gurunath Meiyappan is expected to be accompanied by a team of legal eagles, who will assist him in getting through the interrogation.

Writing about the Meiyappan saga Firstpost's Venky Vembu says:

Meiyappan hasn’t been named as an accused in the case; he is only being sought for questioning in connection with the allegation made by Vindoo Dara Singh that he was punting on his team’s fortunes. And, to be abundantly clear, Meiyappan is within his legal rights to seek an alternative date for his appearance for questioning in connection with a criminal case – although that luxury isn’t always afforded to those without political or other clout.

But just the sight of Meiyappan playing hide-and-seek games with the police, when he has so much of his reputation – and that of his father-in-law – riding on clearing his name from the taint of association with the sensational scandal makes for bad – and deeply incriminating – optics.

Gurunath Meiyappan who was last spotted in Kodaikanal with his father-in-law BCCI president N Srinivasan, is now on his way to Mumbai, CNN-IBN reported.

It is unclear if the Chennai Super Kings CEO will be able to make it to Mumbai before his 5pm deadline ends.

The Mumbai police reportedly want him to answer questions due to his close links with Vindoo Dara Singh and asked him to appear before the city crime branch between 11am and 5pm. He asked for an extension but did not receive it.

In the wake of latest controversies related to spot fixing case in cricket and revelations of role of underworld in leveraging ban in sports betting, FICCI has once again reinitiated its call for regulating sports betting in India.

Despite several attempts to ban it, betting is continuing albeit in an underground way and substantial resources have been invested into enforcing such a ban; Thus middle way out is it should be regulated in a way which reduces this to an acceptable level. Hence, the Government should think of legalizing and regulating betting.

India is continuing to lose billions of dollars in taxable revenue (an estimated Rs. 12-20,000 crore annually) through black marketing operations in sports betting. According to FICCI, the greatest advantage of regulating sports betting is going to be the accountability for the large amounts of money transferred through illegal channels and reduction in cases of match fixing, money laundering and crimes.

If gaming and betting is regulated in India, it will benefit exchequer and could potentially fund sports development, social protection or welfare schemes and infrastructure development plans.

13.13 pm: Meiyappan in Kodaikanal with Srinivasan

TV Channels flashing images of Meiyappan in Kodaikanal with Srinivasan. We already knew that Srinivasan was there but now the son-in-law has also been spotted there.

The Mumbai Police had told Meiyappan to appear before the crime branch latest by 5.00 pm. It will be difficult for Meiyappan to make it.

12.09 pm: BCCI top brass in a huddle

Arun Jaitley, Rajeev Shukla met Law Minister Kapil Sibal. They will also be meeting the Sports Minister. Srinivasan, meanwhile, is said to be chilling in Kodaikanal.

Shukla said: "We told Mr Sibal that we need a strong law in place to control match fixing. We want a law enacted as quickly as possible."

Waiting for loyalists to distance themselves from the Board President like they did with Modi,the circle of life,same movie,different ticket

Pepsi has issued a statement saying that they will not be pulling out of the IPL, as reported by some sections of the media.

"The stories in a certain section of the media today, on PepsiCo regarding IPL, are speculative in nature. As a company policy we do not comment on speculation. PepsiCo has not sent any communication to BCCI as referred in a certain section of the media", the company said.

11.18 am: No extension for Meiyappan

Chennai Super Kings boss Gurunath Meiyappan who reportedly asked for more time to appear before the Mumbai crime branch, is unlikely to get an extension, CNN-IBN reported.

Meiyappan was issued with a summons to appear before the Mumbai crime branch between 11am and 5pm today, as he was not at home to answer questions by a Mumbai police team who went to his Chennai residence on Thursday.

Meiyappan had reportedly asked for more time, but CNN-IBN quoted Mumbai police sources as saying that they were unlikely to entertain his request.

"If we were going to grant an extension, we would not have personally delivered a summons all the way to Chennai", Times Now, quoted Mumbai police as saying.

On Thursday it was declared that if Meiyappan failed to show up, he would be declared a fugitive.

11.11 am: Vindoo to appear in court today

Vindoo Dara Singh is due to appear in court again. The Mumbai Police are likely to ask the court to extend his custody.

Meanwhile in Delhi, three bookies are due in court today.

10.49 am: International bookie arrested

According to TV reports, an international bookie, Mohammad, has been arrested -- he is thought to be one of the main links in the spot-fixing probe. He was attempting to escape to Dubai via Hyderabad.

10.44 am: The ‘sourced’ truth may not be real

Everyday, the newspapers and the TV channels are filled with stories – straight from the sources mouth – about a new revelation, an exclusive angle or a new break in the case. And everyday we wonder how true these stories are… it’s juicy, it’s sleazy but is it the truth? Will half-truths do simply because everyone else has access to them too?

Normal journalism practice dictates that a source is someone you’ve known for a while; someone whose words you have come to trust completely because of the number of times he has given you information that has been completely true and he is not named in your copy because you need to protect his identity.

But in this case, everyone seems to have the same source – for all the quotes read the same

Anant Rangaswami writes on the impact the spot-fixing scandal could have on the title sponsor Pepsi.

It’s just over six months since Pepsi stunned the advertising and marketing world in India when they bid a whopping Rs 397 crore for the honour of becoming the title sponsor of the IPL for five years, starting 2013.

When the news broke, there was only one question that was debated in the industry: would the IPL deliver the audience numbers to justify Pepsi’s investment?

10.25 am: Ex-BCCI chief Manohar feels every match in the 2013 IPL should be investigated

Shashank Manohar, the former president of the BCCI, has said that the BCCI is not equipped to investigate spot-fixing and should rely on the police to punish players as suspensions do not work.

“BCCI has no machinery to investigate”, Manohar told Business Standard. “Therefore, I reiterate that BCCI should have filed a complaint to the police on its own. Suspension of players will not work. If the player is put behind bars even for a day, it will create a fear psychosis and become a deterrent to others.”

The Delhi Police chief has come out and said that 3 players and 12 bookies have been arrested. They have also said that they are not probing N Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's role in the spot-fixing scandal.

We need to remember that the Delhi police is only investigation the spot-fixing scandal. The Mumbai police, which has issued a summons to Meiyappan, is looking at betting in cricket.

10.04 am: Vindoo was in touch with three CSK players

Three Chennai Super Kings players, one of them quite senior, were in touch with Vindoo Dara Singh during the ongoing T20 season, the actor, arrested in connection with the spot-fixing probe, has told investigators. "Yes, he has dropped some names, we are verifying the authenticity of his claims," the joint commissioner of police (crime), Himanshu Roy told the Hindustan Times.

The police might question the players once they corroborate Vindoo's claims, sources said.

9.15 am: Gurunath was betting heavily on IPL, say Mumbai police

CNN-IBN has quoted Mumbai police sources as saying that Chennai Super Kings CEO Gurunath Meiyappan was betting heavily on IPL matches since 2011, and had been placing bets between Rs 10 lakh to a crore on matches.

The Mumbai police had also reportedly said that Meiyappan had bet heavily on three CSK matches this season, and had also placed bets on other matches in the league.

Meiyappan has been issued a summons to present himself before the Mumbai crime division before 5pm on Friday. The summons came after a Mumbai police team went to Meiyappan's Chennai residence to question him and were told that he was not at home.

Meiyappan is being probed for his close links with Vindoo Dara Singh who has been arrested in the IPL spot-fixing scam. Police have said that there were as many as 30 calls exchanged between the two in a few days.

7.15pm: Former Pakistan cricket team captain Aamir Sohail to Times Now

Expressing disappointment over the sudden decision of the ICC to drop Asad Rauf from the Champions Trophy, former Pakistan cricket team captain Aamir Sohail told Times Now,"Have they (ICC) given any evidence? They can't do that on mere speculation."

The former Pakistani opener blasted the ICC vigilance team for failing to detect these wrongdoings until external agencies intervened.

"How are they (ICC) not pulling out people from the anti-corruption unit? Everything happened under their nose," he said. "ICC is not clean. That's why this game is suffering."

6.55pm Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf may be called for questioning by Mumbai Police.

6.41pm: Zaka Ashraf, Chairman, Pakistan Cricket Board to Times Now

"It is not in our knowledge. I have heard it from you," Ashraf told Times Now from Pakistan.

"Neither did he go with our permission nor is he coming back with our permission. The Pakistan Cricket Board has nothing to do with it. But if he has done anything wrong he should be punished," he said.

Questioning the slack management in the IPL, Ashraf said,"I don't know why things are not being tightened up in the IPL? This is something that the IPL management must seriously look into."

The Pakistan Cricket Board chief said that the cricket board will soon meet to take steps against wrong practices by officials involved in the game.

"We are going to have a Board meeting so that to set up norms to bring all Pakistani umpires, match referees under the domain of the Pakistan Cricket Board," he said.

However, the Pakistan Cricket Board chief said that if Asad Rauf was involved in unfair practices before he should have been allowed to participate in this version of the IPL.

"Why is he there now if he did anything wrong before?" Ashraf asked.

18.22 pm: ICC withdraws Asad Rauf from ICC Champions Trophy 2013

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that it has withdrawn elite panel umpire Asad Rauf from the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 that will be staged in England and Wales from 6-23 June.

The decision has been made after media reports on Wednesday indicated that the umpire was under investigation by Mumbai Police.

Explaining the decision, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “In the wake of reports that the Mumbai Police are conducting an investigation into Asad Rauf’s activities, we feel that it is in Asad’s best interests as well as those of the sport and the event itself, that he is withdrawn from participating in the ICC Champions Trophy.”

18.12 pm: Sreesanth fought with Upton?

According to the Delhi Police, When he was not included in the Rajasthan Royal team after the May nine IPL match, a drunk Sreesanth fought with coach.

18.04 pm: Was Babu Rao Yadav a double agent?

Was Babu Rao Yadav, the former Vidharbha Ranji cricketer, a double agent who dealt with the ICC ACSU and the bookies? Well, some TV reports say he was.

On Wednesday, the Mumbai police had refused to share their evidence with the Delhi cops. The Delhi cops in turn approached the hotel directly but the hotel was warned by the Mumbai police to not share the CCTV footage.

This is pretty embarrassing.

15.27 pm: Mumbai police issue summons to CSK's Gurunath

Meiyappan was not at home but he was been asked to reach Mumbai for questioning by tomorrow. If he doesn't appear in Mumbai between 11 am and 5 pm, he will be declared a fugitive.

The Delhi Police have now asked the broadcasters to give them the raw footage of all the matches that were played in the league stage. Earlier, the police had asked for footage of only three matches but now it seems that all the matches will be scrutinized.

According to TV reports, the RR team management has still not been given a clean chit by the police.

Skeletons clamouring out of the closet. The can of worms are squirming. Purdah jo uth gaya to bhed khul jayega..Allah meri tauba #Spotfixing

J&K Cricket Association chairman Farooq Abdullah has spoken about the IPL spot-fixing scandal in an interview to CNN-IBN.

"I don't think u can ban IPL. It's unfortunate that this match fixing has emerged. We should get to the bottom of it that cricket lovers aren't disappointed," he said. "All Indians are embarrassed. It's a wake up call if you want to keep it as a gentleman's sport."

On N Srinivasan stepping down: Nothing has been proved till now. This man might has been just been Vindoo's son. Unless its proved that his son-in-law is involved we shouldn't tarnish his image. He will clear himself once investigation gets through.

12.50 pm: Mumbai police refuse to share evidence with Delhi police

And in yet another sign of an increasing turf war between the Delhi and Mumbai police in the IPL spot-fixing case, the Times Now channel is reporting that the Mumbai police are refusing to share evidence collected from Sreesanth's hotel room in the city.

As Firstpost said earlier, The Delhi Police may have made the arrests in the sensational IPL spot fixing case, but the case has sparked off a turf war between them and their Mumbai counterparts with both of them claiming to have more dirt than the other in the scandal.

Since the Mumbai police had no access to Sreesanth after his arrest by the Delhi police, they quickly did the next best thing. They raided his hotel room. Diaries and a few electronic items emerged and accompanying it were leaks about how the fast bowler was both a troubled soul wanting to improve himself and a man with an eye for a pretty face.

The Mumbai Police hasn't been very clear on what the seizure of vigour tablets or photos from a casting director have to do with the Delhi police's probe into spot fixing, and not surprisingly their north Indian counterparts are having a bit of a laugh at their disclosures.

"They (Mumbai Police) are only trying to save their face. All this IPL spot-fixing was happening in Mumbai but they did not do anything. People should try to appreciate the good work done by the Delhi Police, which has shown a lot of ills that were going on in IPL," a caustic SN Srivastava, who is heading the Delhi police probe, told the Economic Times.

Claiming that the Mumbai Police was left holding 'leftovers,' Srivastava said the Delhi police had already taken what it needed from the hotel rooms of the three arrested players. The Mumbai police not surprisingly has chosen to remain mum on these claims.

In this particular case, the Delhi Police had earlier said that they had not co-ordinated with the Mumbai Police to preserve the secrecy of their operation, but the face off between the two police forces is hardly new and at times have stretched to cases related to terrorism as well.

Unfortunately in this case, the only loser seems to be Sreesanth who can expect any dirty secret he may have had in his diaries or electronic devices to quickly be made public as the two police forces try to one up each other.

12.31 pm: Bookie arrested in Ajmer

Ajmer police have arrested an alleged bookie but have refused to divulge any details saying they will wait for more concrete details to come out through interrogation.

Times Now reported that the arrested bookie had been engaged in betting for the last two to three years.

More details are awaited.

12.06 pm: Gurunath Meiyappan, not at his residence

Mumbai police have reached Chennai to quiz Chennai Super Kings CEO Gurunath Meiyappan, but he is not at his residence, reports Times Now. The channel said that Gurunath, who is also the son-in-law of BCCI President N Srinivasan, was not at his home, and there was no indication as to where he was.

The Mumbai police have reportedly now sought the assistance of local Chennai police to help with investigations. Police are reportedly

11.22 am: Too early to announce anyone guilty: BCCI

Anurag Thakur,the Joint Secretary of BCCI has said that it is too premature to announce anyone as guilty in the IPL betting scam, saying that the Delhi police had not yet concluded its investigation.

"Once the inquiry is complete we will be in a position to take the strongest action. Unless Delhi Police concludes its investigation can't announce someone guilty", ANI quoted him as saying.

However Vindoo has reportedly claimed that he had made the calls to the team owner purely for personal reasons.

The actor has claimed that the calls made to Gurunath had little to do with the betting racket and they were "just friends", reported the channel.

10.31 pm: 'Upcoming' Delhi player under the scanner

Another day, another name, another link. The IPL spot-fixing scam seems to be getting murkier and murkier. The latest person to come under the scanner is a rising Delhi Ranji player whose profile had been found in a bookie's social networking account, reports the Hindustan Times. The player has not been named, but the report says,

"The hype built around the player and the manner in which he got out in the matches he played in the current T20 league has stirred the suspicion of investigators".

Several agencies are reportedly studying the footage of all the matches he played in.

The spot-fixing scandal is getting murkier by the day with the police net now spreading to Kolkata. Police arrested nine people from the city on Thursday night in connection to the scandal. One of the nine people arrested is Ajit Sureka, a well-known bookie in the Indian cricket circles. According to Zee News, Rs 3 lakh in cash, eight mobile phones, two laptops which had betting software installed in them, were seized.

The accused will be produced in court today.

Meanwhile, small-time actor Vindoo Dara Singh, who is in police custody for his links with the betting, revealed that he used to place bets on behalf of 'big Bollywood stars'. CNN IBN reports that Vindoo named three more players who were involved in the betting racket.

Meanwhile, Delhi CP Neeraj Kumar said that the police is tracking two other IPL teams and suspects that the betting racket is spread across the country and abroad.

While all fingers were being pointed at the possible Dawood connection, the gangster's aide told in an interview onAaj Takthat he doesn't have anything to do with it. Chhota Shakeel distanced himself from the scam and said that it was Chhota Rajan, another mafia don, who is to be blamed for the muck.

Ironically enough, Dawood is so keen on distancing himself from the betting racket that he made Chhota Shakeel call up TOI and help clear his name. "Bhai doesn't want haraam ka money from betting (Dawood doesn't want money earned from dishonest cricketers)," Shakeel, weirdly enough, told the Times of Indiareporter.

Updates from 22 May end

6.37 pm: IPL should not stop: Sports Minister

"The IPL must not stop. We must ensure more responsibility for all," Sports Minister Jitendra Singh told CNN-IBN in an interview. He also says that the IPL spot-fixing row has brought a bad name to sport.

5.49 pm: Chandila took an advance of Rs 15 lakh from bookies

Police have said that Ajit Chandila took an advance of Rs 15 lakh from bookies in April in order to fix a 17 May match between Rajasthan Royals & Hyderabad Sunrisers in Hyderabad.

5.11 pm: Sreesanth wanted to start betting house

He may deny the allegations of indulging in spot fixing in the current edition of the IPL, but documents reveal that fast bowler S Sreesanth's company planned to enter many ventures including starting betting houses either in India or abroad.

S36 Sports and Entertainment Private Limited, in which the bowler reportedly has a 74 percent stake, in its filing with the Registrar of Companies has said that one of its obejctives was to start betting houses in India and abroad.

However Sreesanth's former coach P Sivakumar who was a director in the company until 2012 defended the player, saying it is a normal practice to list as many objectives, when a company is registered.

"It is a normal practice to list as many objectives, when a company is registered. The company was formed for Sreesanth's post retirement life. If Sreesanth settles abroad, he can run a betting house. There are many countries where betting is allowed. We have not committed any illegality", he said to CNN-IBN.

Sivakumar reportedly holds a 26 percent stake in the company, named after Sreesanth’s sports shop S36 in Kochi.

4.45 pm: Spot-fixing not restricted to IPL, ICL and Bangladesh Premier league also affected.

Police sources have said that it has emerged that Ajit Chandila had been paid for spot-fixing as early as April. This is separate from the Rs.20 lakh recovered from his cricket kit.

Meanwhile it looks as though the spot-fixing malaise is not limited to the IPL. PTI reported that one of the bookies, Sunil Bhatia admits he fixed some ICL matches with the help of Baburao Yadav. After ICL players were banned,

Bhatia took Yadav to Bangladesh.

Bhatia also reportedly claimed he has good contacts with a prominent Bangladeshi player. However they had to return as the ICC anti-corruption team spotted the bookie.

4.40 pm: Sreesanth's girlfriend being questioned by cops

CNN-IBN reports that Sreesanth's girlfriend, identified as Sakshi Jhala is being questioned by police with regards to the spot-fixing case.

Earlier reports came in that the former India pace bowler had spent a lot of his spot-fixing cash on his girlfriend, including a Rs 42,000 BlackBerry Z10 device that he paid for in cash.

Meanwhile NDTV quoting sources, reported that the mobile phones of a bookie had been found at Vindoo Dara Singh's Juhu residence. Police had been conducting raids there since this morning. Singh was remanded to police custody till 24 May.

"Despite ample opportunities provided, the investigating officer has not pointed out who has been cheated and why," additional metropolitan magistrate MN Saleem observed while remanding all the accused in judicial custody.

All the bookies have filed bail applications and the Mumbai crime branch will file a reply on 24 May.

The magistrate also reprimanded the police saying the ground for taking custody written in the remand application is similar to the earlier submitted remand plea.

The court also observed that the phone instruments and other gadgets used for betting have been recovered from the bookies and in view of the above facts "there is no sufficient ground for police custody".

The crime branch told the court that it wants to confront the six accused with Bollywood actor Vindoo Dara Singh, son of late wrestler-actor Dara Singh, arrested yesterday for his alleged association with bookies.

The officials also said voice samples of the accused have to be taken and they have to confront the accused with each other.

However, defence lawyers pointed out that the custody is not required for recording voice samples and for confronting with other accused.

On May 20, the city police, which had arrested six bookies in connection with the IPL betting, told the court that they would investigate if the Pakistanis with whom the bookies were in touch had any terror links or connections with the organised crime syndicates.

The arrested bookies were allegedly not only accepting the betting but were also connecting calls from bookies in Pakistan and Dubai.

The Crime branch told the court that they want to elicit information about the absconding bookies from the arrested bookies.

(PTI)

3.19 pm: Sreesanth and Co also charged under section 409

Police today invoked a stringent section pertaining to criminal breach of trust against the players and bookies arrested in the IPL spot-fixing scandal which could land them in jail for life.

Investigators added Section 409 (criminal breach of trust) to the case against 18 players and bookies arrested in the scandal after IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals filed a formal complaint with Delhi Police.

Police had earlier registered a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy.

In its complaint, Rajasthan Royals said it had entered into an agreement with the three players stipulating that they will abide by the rules and regulations laid by ICC, BCCI and IPL.

Sources said the franchise said they came to know that the players indulged in spot-fixing with a personal motive and for financial gains and that they "fundamentally eroded" the sanctity of the game.

They sought registration of case against the players under Section 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust) while adding 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent).

PTI

2.43 pm: UPA also involved in IPL, says Swamy

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was involved in all the recently unearthed scams, including spot fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and the involvement of some of its ministers would emerge, Janata Party leader Subramaniam Swamy said.

"The names of some UPA ministers will soon surface in the IPL spot fixing racket," he told reporters. "There can be no scams and scandals without the blessings of the UPA government. They are in Coalgate, Commonwealth Games scandal and also the IPL scandal."

(IANS)

2:00 pm: Madras HC issues notice over PIL

A PIL was today filed in the Madras High Court bench here seeking to direct the government to take over the management and administration of the Indian Premier League and Board of Control for Cricket as it had "failed" to promote the game.

In his petition, city-based lawyer V Santhakumaresan alleged that conduct of certain activities and receipt of income were totally commercial and there was no element of charity in the conduct of BCCI.

The surplus generated by BCCI was shared with players instead of being used for promoting the game, he claimed.

The court should direct CBI to conduct investigation into the entire affairs relating to sources of income, financial status, betting, and match fixing, Santhakumaresan said.

BCCI should desist from using the name "Indian Cricket team" for its team till disposal of the petition, the petitioner said.

He also sought a stay on the IPL 20-20 matches to be held from today till 26 May.

A Division Bench of Justices M M Sundresh and R Mala ordered issue of notice to the Secretary, Department of Culture and Youth Affairs, IPL Chairman, BCCI President, among others, returnable by June six. (PTI)

1:45 pm: Now cops say that Vindoo only made personal calls to CSK franchise CEO Gurunath

Just as soon as the news broke that the police could question Chennai Super Kings CEO Gurunath Meiyappan, now reports state that Vindoo has claimed that he had made the calls to the team owner purely for personal reasons.

The actor has claimed that the calls made to Gurunath had little to do with the betting racket and they were "just friends", reported the channel.

The police has reportedly said that they are verifying the actor's statement.

However, if the police stand by their statement that the actor would call the Chennai team chief and then bookies it raises questions why they wouldn't want to question Gurunath.

The Delhi police now claims that Sreesanth has named other players who are allegedly involved in the betting racket in which he has been arrested.

A Delhi Police official is quoted in a Hindustan Times article saying that they have enough evidence to close in on four cricketers, including a foreign player, from two other teams and they could be arrested this week.

"During his questioning, he has named other players attached to two other teams. Since their recorded conversations do not figure in our telephone intercepts, we will move in on them only after we have enough proof which is being gathered. Fresh arrests will be made soon," the official said.

"I can never believe that he is involved in any way. Let investigations take place, Vindoo will come out clean," Amrik Singh told reporters at the airport here before leaving for

Mumbai.

He said many people know Vindoo, winner of reality television show Bigg Boss season 3, as he is a known figure in Mumbai.

"Almost whole of Mumbai knows him. But that does not mean there is anything criminal... Moreover, by the grace of God, we have everything and we don't need anything from anyone," Amrik said. (PTI)

11.19 am: Cops hint that umpires are part of the scam

While the Delhi Police has cleared everyone in the Indian Premier League of their involvement in the spot fixing scandal, the Mumbai Police has hinted that the involvement of an umpire cannot be ruled out just yet.

The Mumbai Police has hinted at the involvement of a Pakistani umpire in the IPL spot fixing racket. This umpire reportedly officiated in one of the matches in which the three Rajasthan Royals cricketers arrested by the Delhi Police indulged in spot fixing, the Times of India reported.

The police has said they were analysing the activities of the umpire but helpfully added, just in case you wondered who it was, that the umpire was recently in the centre of a controversy over allegations of sexual assault by a model. In case you're still wondering, the Mumbai Police is hinting at Asad Rauf.

CNN-IBN has reported that the Mumbai police are conducting raids on Vindoo Dara Singh's house in Juhu, Mumbai. The channel said that some cash had been recovered. No further details were immediately available.

Singh was arrested yesterday and sent to five days of police custody, on suspicion that he was tied to bookies in the ongoing IPL spot-fixing case.

After alleging that Vindoo Dara Singh was in touch with bookies and maybe even players participating in the IPL, the Mumbai Police now claims that the actor was in regular touch with the son-in- law of N Srinivasan, who is the franchise owner of Chennai Super Kings.

CNN-IBN reported that the police had evidence that the actor was in touch with the relative of N Srinivasan, the president of the Indian cricket board.

IBN7 tweeted that the person, Vindoo was in touch with Gurunath, the son-in-law of the Srinivasan, who is the owner of the Chennai team franchise and is the CEO of the team.

IPL #SpotFixing : #Vindoo admits that he was in regular touch with Guru, son-in-law of N Srinivasan. Police says no evidence yet of fixing.

9. 30 am: Celebrity status is what worked against Sreesanth, says lawyer

It is no secret that the only other people who receive as much adoration and fame as Bollywood stars in India are its cricketers. But, Sreesanth’s lawyers say that this very adoration and fame is what worked to his disadvantage today.

“The judgement is impinged by the celebrity status of the person,” said Rebecca John, a senior lawyer representing the cricketer.

“My client’s case is nothing but a huge overreaction in the media and elsewhere. Even if there is a charge against my client, the maximum he would have done is tinker with an over in a match. There are much larger issues in this country and nobody is taking cognisance of those,” John told Firstpost.

In the latest revelation on the IPL spot-fixing case, sources have told Times Now that actor VindooDara Singh is a bookie.

According to TV reports Vindoo had earlier in the day admitted to have indulged in betting during IPL seasons 5 and 6.

21.22 pm: I'm innocent, never indulged in spot-fixing, says Sreesanth

"I am innocent and have done no wrong. I have never indulged in any spot fixing," suspended pacer S Sreesanth, who is an accused in the IPL spot-fixing case, today said.

In a statement emailed to the media by his lawyer Rebecca John, the cricketer said "I have never indulged in any spot fixing and I have always played cricket in the spirit of the game".

Sreesanth, who was today remanded in further five-day police custody by Metropolitan Magistrate Soumya Chauhan, said "as a cricketer, I have learnt to take knocks along with accolades, in my stride. I recognise that I am going through a tough period in my life.

TV actor Vindoo Dara Singh on being questioned by the police has confessed to betting in the sixth season of the IPL, reported Times Now.

Vindoo has also confessed to the police that he met bookies Sanjay and Jupiter, the report said.

Vindoo was arrested this morning and taken in for questioning.

18:30 pm: It's not related, but Sahara's pulled out of the IPL

Meanwhile, after the BCCI made Sahara cough up its guarantees after failing to pay the franchise fee the corporate has announced that it will no longer participate in the IPL.

So no Pune Warriors India next year as it stands. Does this have anything to do with the fact that Sahara's supposed to cough up around Rs 24,000 crore to pay back investors? They're not saying for now.

The Delhi court has extended the police custody of all three players from the Rajasthan Royals, reports NDTV.

However, the channel hasn't clarified for how long the trio are expected to remain in police custody.

17:45: Exclusive images of Sreesanth at Delhi court

We have some exclusive pictures of Sreesanth in the Delhi court today thanks to our photojournalist Naresh Sharma. You can check out the images here.

17: 40 pm: Sreesanth's lawyer opposes cops plea for more custody

PTI reports that Sreesanth's lawyer has opposed the plea by the Delhi police seeking five additional days of custody. He has also opposed the addition of the additional charge of criminal breach of trust against the cricketer.

Meanwhile, CNN-IBN's Bhupendra Chaubey tells us on Twitter that the masala in the scandal is no where close to over and there could be one more Bollywood name in the mix:

My sources tell me one big name from film industry is going to be caught in this ipl fixing row, watch this space for more

The Delhi police has told the court hearing the remand application of Sreesanth in the spot fixing case that the fast bowler used money from spot-fixing to gift a Blackberry to girlfriend, reports PTI.

Sreesanth being produced at Saket court today. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost

Meanwhile, the cops have also said that Sreesanth had bought Rs 1.95 lakh worth of clothes bought from a designer brand in Mumbai during a single trip and they are still identifying bills for the items he purchased, reported CNN-IBN.

The police also say that they have raided a house in Jaipur based on information obtained from the fast bowler.

17:20 pm: On a lighter note...

Ok so we're all going a little gaga over the pictures of Vindoo Dara Singh at an IPL match sitting next to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's wife. Here's one wise opinion from Twitter on it:

Fact: Vindoo Dara Singh is in a photo with Dhoni. Means: Dhoni fixes matches. Fact: I went to Germany. Means: I'm Hitler.

The police is likely to seek custody for five days. As he was being taken to court, a reporter asked: 'Toh Vindoo, kitne ki betting ki thi?" (How much did you bet?)

Unfortunately there was no reply from the actor. The Mumbai police, however, is expected to speak soon on the alleged involvement of the actor in the betting racket.

16.06 pm: BCCI hasn't forgiven any match-fixer, says Rajiv Shukla

Rajeev Shukla, IPL Chairman: "BCCI is one body that has ensured that the match-fixers haven't been spared. All match-fixers have been banned and they are still serving their bans. Other Boards have not done this. Only we have."

"Betting goes on. The IPL is only on for one and a half months. But what about the rest of the year. There is betting on everything -- on cricket, one election. We welcome a new law against betting. We will spare no one."

Shukla added that the arrest of Vindoo Dara Singh showed how it difficult it was to identify bookies. 'Anyone can be a bookie. There are thousands of them", he said.

15.58 pm: Vindoo Dara Singh has confessed

Sources have told CNN-IBN that Vindoo Dara Singh has confessed to his links with the bookies. He was reportedly a go-between cricketers and bookies.

15.48 pm: Vindoo Dara Singh arrested

The first Bollywood link to the IPL spot-fixing scandal. He has been arrested for links with bookies by the Mumbai Crime Branch. He is the son of Dara Singh and is also a winner of Bigg Boss. This arrest follows the arrest of Ramesh Vyas, who was arrested a few days back. Vyas had links to key bookies Jupiter and others who were named by the Delhi police.

He is being questioned by the Mumbai Crime Branch at the moment. During IPL 6, he has been spotted with MS Dhoni's wife, Sakhshi at the Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings match on April 6.

According to TV sources, the cops have evidence linking Vindoo to bookies. They have also said that Vindoo was in constant touch with bookies. He was picked up late last evening.

#SpotFixing Sources close to Mahindra Singh Dhoni say India skipper has nothing to do with Vindoo Dara Singh, he was just attended a match

SC refuses to ban IPL matches, saying it cannot be done just because of certain irregularities on the part of a few players. The tournament will go on. In the 20-minute hearing, the SC ordered the BCCI to take the necessary action. They need to stop the lackadaisical attitude. SC also directed the one-man committee appointed by BCCI to submit its report within 15 days.

"There has to be scientific, rational, dispassionate approach on part of BCCI to solve the problem," said the SC.

SC added: "Let the cricket remain a gentleman's game and not tainted by irregularities and scams."

The Law Minister Kapil Sibal had mentioned earlier that match fixing needs to be made a criminal offence. The meeting looked at that aspect.

"We believe that match-fixing is neither gambling nor betting. Because in betting you don't know the result. In fixing, that's known. We have decided to put up a case to the attorney general of India as soon as he returns from abroad. Then a national legislation can be drafted. If he says yes, then we will try and draft the law. We will then speak to the sports ministry, who will then take it forward and bring it up in the Parliament," said Kapil Sibal.

12.56 pm: Sending Sreesanth and Co to jail will be tough

Given the reports that have come thick and fast about the police’s investigation into the alleged spot-fixing racket in the IPL, it would appear that the case against the three Rajasthan Royals players is a slam dunk. But it won’t be so easy to prove criminal liability in a court of law where the prosecution will need to convince a judge beyond a reasonable doubt, say lawyers.

“It is going to be very, very difficult,” Desh Gaurav Sekhri, a sports lawyer, told Firstpost. The first issue is who is going to serve as the complainant. It is for this reason that the Rajasthan Royals have been asked to file an FIR. “It is pretty clear they are the only ones who have a case against the players,” Sekhri said.

The Delhi police special cell is questioning the trio again. The custody ends today and the players are due it court later in the day. The police will be looking to extend the custody by another 5 days. Sreesanth is expected to ask for bail.

11.01 am: Another bookie arrested in Chennai

According to TV channels, IPL betting kingpin Prashanth has been arrested in Chennai. Rs 6 lakhs in cash has been recovered. Prasanth was arrested in 2002 in relation to a havala case.

11.00 am: SC to hear PIL on spot fixing

The PIL wants a stay on the matches. SC will take it up for further hearing at 1400 hrs IST.

The petitioner, a Lucknow resident, has made all IPL franchises and BCCI party in the case along with the Centre.

"There are many irregularities in the IPL beginning from auction of players. Black money and money from anti-social elements are involved in the IPL which needs to be probed," advocate Vishnu Jain, who filed the petition, said.

The petition sought a stay on remaining four matches including final match of the IPL till the probe is completed.

10.39 am: Kapil Sibal seeks law to make match-fixing a criminal offence

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has said that there should be a law to prevent match fixing by making it a criminal offence.

The comment comes after the BCCI allegedly wrote to the government seeking a law to prevent match fixing in the future.

Sreesanth's lawyers will attempt to get bail for their client. BCCI

9.46 am: Police to seek further custody of Sreesanth as he is not cooperating with probe

Reports just coming in state that police will oppose former India pace bowler Sreesanth's bail application on the grounds that he is not cooperating with the investigation. Police sources were quoted by the Times Now channel as saying that not only was Sreesanth an active participant in the spot-fixing, but they also had no idea where the money that he was paid by one of the bookies was.

Police will seek an additional five-days custody.

Sreesanth's lawyer Deepak Prakash has said that he will go all out to seek bail for his client.

The five-day police remand of Indian pacer S Sreesanth, the most high-profile among those arrested so far by the Delhi Police Special Cell in the sensational IPL spot-fixing scandal, ends on Tuesday.

So what is next for the cricketer?

Will the police seek an extension of his custody? Not an unlikely scenario in such cases, given that the investigation is ongoing. Three more people were arrested in connection with scandal on 19 May and remanded to police custody for five days on Sunday.

The top priority for Sreesanth's lawyers at this point is getting him out on bail and they will move the application when he is produced in court this afternoon.

Cheating (Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code), which the cricketer has been charged with along with criminal conspiracy (Section 120B), is a non-bailable offence.

However, his lawyer Deepak Prakash seems confident that Sreesanth will be granted bail although he didn't specify the grounds on which he would argue for bail for his client.

While the prosecution is certain to oppose Sreesanth's bail, the likely grounds on which it could be opposed are - the nature of the charges against Sreesanth, gravity of the crime, the huge a